How Much Is an Acre of Land Worth? 2026 Prices

There is no single answer to "how much is an acre of land worth." An acre near a growing city can sell for more than a whole section of remote ranch land. Still, real sales data gives you a useful starting point. This guide shows the median sold price per acre in every state, what different lot sizes tend to sell for, and the features that push one parcel's value up or down.

If you want a number for your own land, the quickest step is our free land value estimator. It uses recent sales of similar land in your area. Read on to understand what sits behind that number.

Land Value Per Acre: The Short Answer

Land value per acre depends on three big things:

• Location: how close the land is to towns, jobs, roads and water
• Size: small lots almost always cost more per acre than large tracts
• Usability: whether someone can actually build on it or use it

Because of these factors, a state median is only a rough guide. Two parcels in the same county can sell for very different prices per acre. Use the state numbers below to get a sense of the market, then look at sales near your land.

Median Sold Price Per Acre by State

The figures below are the median sold price per acre for vacant land in each state over the last 12 months, rounded. The median is the middle sale: half of the sales were higher and half were lower. Each state's median mixes small lots and large tracts, so states with many small lots near cities show high per-acre numbers. Where a state shows no figure, there was not enough reported sold data to give a reliable median.

• Alabama: about $25,000 per acre
• Alaska: sale prices are not public in Alaska, so there is no sold figure
• Arizona: about $220,000 per acre
• Arkansas: about $19,000 per acre
• California: about $67,000 per acre
• Colorado: about $43,000 per acre
• Connecticut: about $69,000 per acre
• Delaware: about $130,000 per acre
• Florida: about $83,000 per acre
• Georgia: about $29,000 per acre
• Hawaii: about $77,000 per acre
• Idaho: sale prices are not public in Idaho, so there is no sold figure
• Illinois: about $48,000 per acre
• Indiana: about $34,000 per acre
• Iowa: about $69,000 per acre
• Kansas: sale prices are not public in Kansas, so there is no sold figure
• Kentucky: about $19,000 per acre
• Louisiana: sale prices are not public in Louisiana, so there is no sold figure
• Maine: about $18,000 per acre
• Maryland: about $63,000 per acre
• Massachusetts: about $130,000 per acre
• Michigan: about $21,000 per acre
• Minnesota: about $27,000 per acre
• Mississippi: sale prices are not public in Mississippi, so there is no sold figure
• Missouri: sale prices are not public in Missouri, so there is no sold figure
• Montana: sale prices are not public in Montana, so there is no sold figure
• Nebraska: about $83,000 per acre
• Nevada: the recent data for Nevada is not reliable enough to report
• New Hampshire: about $33,000 per acre
• New Jersey: about $730,000 per acre
• New Mexico: sale prices are not public in New Mexico, so there is no sold figure
• New York: about $18,000 per acre
• North Carolina: about $47,000 per acre
• North Dakota: sale prices are not public in North Dakota, so there is no sold figure
• Ohio: about $32,000 per acre
• Oklahoma: about $18,000 per acre
• Oregon: about $110,000 per acre
• Pennsylvania: about $36,000 per acre
• Rhode Island: about $480,000 per acre
• South Carolina: about $43,000 per acre
• South Dakota: about $81,000 per acre
• Tennessee: about $30,000 per acre
• Texas: sale prices are not public in Texas, so there is no sold figure
• Utah: sale prices are not public in Utah, so there is no sold figure
• Vermont: about $14,000 per acre
• Virginia: about $24,000 per acre
• Washington: about $115,000 per acre
• West Virginia: about $12,000 per acre
• Wisconsin: about $34,000 per acre
• Wyoming: sale prices are not public in Wyoming, so there is no sold figure

Some numbers look very high. New Jersey and Rhode Island are good examples. In those states, most land sales are small lots inside or near cities, and a quarter-acre lot that sells for a normal lot price works out to a very high price per acre. A 40-acre tract in the same state would sell for far less per acre. For more detail on your state, including county-level notes, see our state guides, for example selling land in Ohio.

How Much Is 1 Acre, 5 Acres or 10+ Acres Worth?

To get a national picture by lot size, we took each state's median sold price for each size band, then took the middle value across the 38 states that had enough sales data. This is a "median of state medians," so it shows a typical state, not a weighted national average. Rounded, it looks like this:

• Under 1 acre: about $65,000 per lot, or about $175,000 per acre
• 1 to 2 acres: about $64,000 per lot, or about $50,000 per acre
• 2 to 5 acres: about $80,000 per lot, or about $28,000 per acre
• 5 to 10 acres: about $110,000 per lot, or about $17,000 per acre
• 10 to 20 acres: about $150,000 per lot, or about $12,000 per acre
• 20 to 50 acres: about $200,000 per lot, or about $7,000 per acre
• 50 to 100 acres: about $350,000 per lot, or about $5,000 per acre
• 100 acres and up: about $570,000 per lot, or about $3,000 per acre

So when people ask "how much is 5 acres of land worth," a typical answer falls in the 2 to 5 acre and 5 to 10 acre bands: roughly $80,000 to $110,000 in a typical state. Your land can sell for much more or much less, depending on where it is and what it can be used for.

Why Small Lots Cost More Per Acre

Look at the list above. The total price goes up as the land gets bigger, but the price per acre falls fast. A lot under one acre sells for about $175,000 per acre in a typical state, while tracts of 100 acres or more sell for about $3,000 per acre. There are a few reasons for this:

• Buyers pay for a homesite, not for acres. Most buyers of small lots want one place to build. The first acre carries most of that value. Extra acres add less.
• Small lots are often in or near towns. They tend to have paved roads, power, and sometimes water and sewer close by. Large tracts are more often rural.
• More buyers can afford small lots. A lower total price means more people can buy, which supports a higher price per acre.
• Large tracts are priced like farm, ranch or timber land. Their value comes from what the land produces, which is usually far less per acre than a building lot.

This is why you should never take a per-acre number from a large tract and apply it to a small lot, or the other way around. Compare your land to sales of similar size.

What Moves Land Value Up or Down

Within the same area and size, these features cause the biggest swings in price:

Road Access

Land with frontage on a public, maintained road is worth more. Landlocked land, with no legal access, sells for much less because the buyer may need an easement from a neighbor. A recorded easement helps. Rules vary by state and county.

Utilities

Power at the road, a public water line and sewer can each add real value. If the land needs a well and a septic system, buyers will think about the cost and whether the soil can support a septic system.

Zoning and Allowed Uses

Zoning controls what someone can build. Residential, commercial, agricultural and mobile-home-friendly zoning each attract different buyers. Land with restrictive deed covenants or a homeowners association may draw fewer buyers.

Flood Zone and Wetlands

Land in a mapped flood zone can cost more to build on and insure. Wetlands can limit or prevent building on part or all of a parcel. Both can lower value a lot.

Terrain

Flat, dry, cleared land is the easiest to use. Steep slopes, rock, dense brush or poor drainage add building costs and lower what buyers will pay.

Location and Demand

Distance to a town, schools, jobs, lakes and recreation all matter. Land in a growing area tends to hold value better than land in an area where people are moving away.

How to Estimate What Your Land Is Worth

Start with sales, not asking prices. Asking prices show what sellers hope for. Sold prices show what buyers actually paid.

• Use our land value estimator to see a range of what similar land sold for near you.
• Read your state guide for local market notes.
• Compare your parcel to recent sales of similar size, access and use.
• Adjust for the features above, such as road access and flood zone.

If you are thinking about selling, our offer calculator shows how a cash offer compares with listing after fees and holding costs. You can also request a cash offer. We make offers within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, pay the closing costs, and can close in as few as 7 days. For a full walk-through of the process, see our guide on how to sell land.